COVID-19 - News

Yorkshire Firefighters, a new BBC Two series commissioned by BBC England, will light up viewers’ television screens in summer. This unique four-part series takes viewers onto the frontline with the men and women keeping their communities safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a rare chance to go behind the scenes with this inspirational band of West Yorkshire firefighters. real-life emergencies Filmed using the latest technology, viewers will be brought closer than ever before to...

Yesterday, England moved to the final stage of easing the Covid-19 restrictions. Thankfully, many business premises are already back up and running following the gradual lifting of the restrictions since February. But with many employees still working from home and homeworking becoming more readily accepted by employers, many offices and business premises will remain unoccupied – despite yesterday’s announcement. Vehicle-Borne attacks Vacant properties are an easy target for squat...

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority (MFRA), part of the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS), has begun a 12-week consultation on proposed changes, to emergency response cover in Aintree and Croxteth, following initial approval to create a new superstation and training center. The consultation will run from 15th July to 7th October 2021. Integrated Risk Management Plan The plans were outlined in a recent consultation on the innovative Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) for 2021-2...

After 16 months of nearly constant companionship, many pet parents are preparing to leave their pets at home while they transition back to the workplace. In support of Kidde's annual Pet Fire Safety Month in July, Kidde and celebrity pet trainer Sara Carson (as seen on America's Got Talent) are providing DIY tips to help pet owners train their four-legged families to respond positively to the sound of smoke alarms. Kidde is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the foremost global pro...

In the upcoming weeks, further restrictions regarding COVID safety may be reduced or completely removed following assessments by Governments across the nation. This poses important steps for fire safety service providers/contractors, including reviewing their own COVID-19 safety policies in the interest of employee and client safety.  BAFE would like to offer the following guidance considering the removal or reduction of restrictions: Continue to exercise a risk-based approach prior to...

With the travel and social contact restrictions imposed around the world as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, accreditation and conformity assessment bodies turned to technology in order to continue their work remotely. Remote Audit/Assessment Survey A survey is now being run jointly by IAF, ILAC and ISO to better understand the views of the conformity assessment community and those that rely on the results of conformity assessment, on the use of remote techniques for audit/assessment/ev...

In the upcoming weeks, further restrictions regarding COVID safety may be reduced or completely removed following assessments by Governments across the nation. This poses important steps for fire safety service providers/contractors, including reviewing their own COVID-19 safety policies in the interest of employee and client safety.  BAFE would like to offer the following guidance considering the removal or reduction of restrictions: Continue to exercise a risk-based approach prior to...

In the coming weeks, further restrictions regarding COVID safety may be reduced or completely removed following assessments by governments across the nation. This poses important steps for fire safety service providers/contractors, including reviewing COVID safety policies in the interest of employee and client safety. Tips to follow BAFE would like to offer the following guidance considering the removal or reduction of restrictions: Continue to exercise a risk-based approach before visiti...

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment chooses inaugural DEFEA Athens as a first live event to showcase consolidated high-performance boat, life-saving, and safety solutions for the defense sector. With order volumes from defense customers in Greece at their highest level for many years, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is taking the first ‘real-life’ opportunity to present its consolidated portfolio of products and services to naval and military clients in an encouraging market. The opportunity...

The process of ensuring that products available in the fire apparatus marketplace are fully optimized for their intended use and are of the best possible quality is a fulfilling yet tricky one – just ask Bob Albano, the fire and rescue business development manager at Hendrickson. Virtual Fire Apparatus Conference His expertise focuses specifically on working with fire apparatus manufacturers across the country to ensure that their products are designed to meet the demands of the fire &am...

LEADER (Grupo Leader), alongside its fire safety equipment distributor, SOMATICO, organized a day of technical tests for a wide range of the company’s firefighting equipment, on the 29th of June, 2021, on its premises in Octeville sur Mer, France. Technical tests day The program day included general presentation of the various ranges of firefighting equipment and BIOEX foam concentrates, including ‘Positive Pressure Ventilators’ workshop - presentation and tests that featured...

Just in time for the start of the summer season and the associated increase in dust, the new solutions from EmiControls, including the H2 Pump and the V12s Basic, have been unveiled. EmiControls’ H2 Pump is tailor-made and offers punctual dust suppression for smaller plants H2 Pump system The H2 Pump system is specially designed for localized dust suppression. The new H2 series is a versatile high-pressure misting system and thanks to its modular design, can be flexibly adapted to custom...

With summer officially here and COVID-19 restrictions loosening around the country, many people will look to grilling, cookouts, and other outdoor gatherings, including fireworks displays, to enjoy the warm weather. As the Fourth of July approaches, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is providing important reminders and guidelines for safely enjoying these activities. Reminders and Guidelines Make sure your gas grill is working properly Leaks or breaks are primarily a problem...

Falck (Falck A/S · Falck-Huset) has launched a new and innovative call out solution for its part-time firefighters in Denmark. Based on the results, Falck will explore if this solution can be valuable to further expand into other parts of the business, by identifying possible customer benefits, on a case-by-case basis, on how to increase safety levels, as well as improve efficiency. Falck Fire Alert With the Falck Fire Alert, the company offers an intelligent, cost-efficient and qualit...

All Royal Berkshire Fire Authority and Committee meetings will resume physical meetings from June 30. 2021, with the annual Royal Berkshire Fire Authority meeting, which will be held from 6:30 pm, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, at Winnersh Triangle, in Reading, United Kingdom. RBFRS' meetings The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) meetings are open for the press and public to attend, however, please be aware that the numbers will be limited due to UK Government and Public Health Engla...

Dräger (Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA), a globally renowned company in the fields of medical and safety technology, has launched the Dräger PSS AirBoss, the next generation in Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) that provides firefighters and emergency service teams with the utmost in usability, safety, serviceability, and connectivity. It was officially launched at the global virtual DrägerUp 2021 event, where Dräger demonstrated how PSS AirBoss represents a digit...

Verint®, The Customer Engagement Company™ announced its recognition in Gartner, Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center (CEC) report, published June 15, 2021, by the research and advisory firm. In addition to being recognized in this report, the firm also named Verint a pioneer in its 2021 Magic Quadrant for Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) research. Evaluation criteria In the CEC report, Verint has evaluated 16 criteria across two key areas, ability t...

FlamePro, a British manufacturing specialist of life-saving garments for firefighters, launches a national survey in a bid to uncover the key issues that firefighters are currently facing. The anonymous research will provide a rare opportunity to gain insight into the minds and experiences of frontline firefighters. It’s hoped the project will help shape the future of the industry and ensure the safety of firefighters across the country. Key industry professionals The survey is designed...

Three fire and rescue staff from South Yorkshire are named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021. Jess Grayson Control room operator - Jess Grayson has been awarded the British Empire Medal. She was named a BEM for services to mental health, having used her own mental health experiences to spearhead attempts to tackle the well-being issues firefighters and other emergency services workers face. Alongside her day-to-day duties in the control room Jess, a Watch Manager, also trained resili...

Firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) will be supporting Sheffield GP practices by delivering COVID-19 vaccines. This comes just over a month after several fire service volunteers were trained up as vaccinators by St John Ambulance, and is part of a huge national effort from fire services across the country to help with the pandemic response. vaccinations at practices The agreement struck by Chief Fire Officer, Alex Johnson, and pioneers at NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissi...

Emergency responders will receive worker protections from COVID-19 under an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  The Occupational Exposure to COVID-19, Emergency Temporary Standard establishes protections for workers who are exposed to COVID-19 in settings where people with COVID-19 are reasonably expected to be present. Inclusions in ETS The ETS applies to healthcare workers, including emergency responders, while...

As Marmara Fair Organization, they will be making some arrangements for the health of the exhibitors and visitors within the scope of the return to the new normal after the COVID-19 outbreak. They are doing these arrangements to protect the health of the exhibitors and visitors. They will carry out the business meetings in peace and security by taking precautions and acting in measures, at the ISAF Exhibition and the technology exhibition IMEX, which is going to be the safest exhibition of all...

The Skills Network, the UK’s largest online learning provider, partners with the London Fire Brigade to launch Project Kestrel - offering frontline security staff the opportunity to gain a nationally recognized fire awareness certificate. Having previously partnered with the likes of the NHS, The Landmark London and BrewDog to provide online courses for staff, The Skills Network has developed a fire awareness course to enable security staff to; upskill, be able to confidently identify fir...

Four C-130 aircraft from the California and Nevada Air National Guard, worked alongside the U.S. Forest Service, during annual refresher and certification training with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), from May 4 – May 7, 2021. During the training, these aircraft, equipped with MAFFS units, practiced dispersing water in rugged, mountainous terrain, as they are guided by lead planes flown by members of the U.S. Forest Service. Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System MAFFS...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service are celebrating the efforts of staff that has supported the national vaccination rollout. Around 150 service volunteers, including senior officers, firefighters, call handlers, and support staff has given more than 4,400 hours at sites around the county. This included helping to set up mass vaccination centers, assisting with patients, and marshaling in car parks. Some have also been trained to administer vaccines by The British Red Cross and St John&rsqu...

The Memphis City Council has approved a new contract and raises for its professional firefighters, marking a resounding and long-fought win for Memphis Local 1784. By a 10-3 vote, Memphis City Council members agreed to a new three-year contract that includes back-to-back 3% annual raises with an opportunity to consider an additional raise in the final year. Local 1784’s previous contract had expired, and the union and city were thrust into impasse negotiations that ultimately led to the M...

According to AAA, more than 9 in 10 Memorial Day travelers will drive to their destinations this year. The advocate for safe mobility predicts a 52 percent increase in vehicle travel this Memorial Day weekend over last year and reports that 34 million Americans are planning to take road trips now that COVID-19 restrictions are loosening up. In the interest of public and responder safety, leading fire service organizations are reminding firefighters, EMS providers, and roadside service provide...

Savannah, GA Local 574 will host the 57th annual U.S. and Canadian Professional Fire Fighters Golf Tournament in October after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day event on October 18-20, 2021, is expected to draw hundreds of IAFF members and family members and raise $1 million in revenue for the City of Savannah. Proceeds will benefit the Local 574 Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation. The event registration will include a hotel, three rounds of golf on different courses, br...

With the COVID outbreak making business travel and exhibitions almost impossible over the last 15 months, it was great to see the productts on show at Fire Australia. Whilst scaled down from previous editions of the show, Fire Australia 2021 still featured a comprehensive conference programme which ran alongside the exhibition. The Australian partners, FlameStop, were among the 80 companies exhibiting and took the opportunity to promote products from the Solo and Testifire ranges. Rob Glover,...

Dr. Alexander Charlish is the first Fraunhofer scientist to be awarded the prestigious IEEE Radar Research Prize. He is the first Fraunhofer researcher and the second German ever to receive the prestigious IEEE Fred Nathanson Memorial Radar Award. Dr. Alexander Charlish, a scientist and team pioneer at Fraunhofer FKIE, received the international award for his outstanding work in the field of radar resource management and cognitive radar. Since 1985, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics E...